In Diraz, Bahrainis once again protest against Al Khalifah

In Bahrain, residents of the village of Diraz on Friday once again protested against the Al Khalifah regime for its persecution of the Shia community.

The regime forces prevented the village’s Friday prayers leader from going to Imam Sadiq Mosque. Worshippers said the prayers individually.

The protesters demonstrated in the streets following the prayers. They also chanted slogans against King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah.

It was the third time the Manama regime forces disrupted Friday prayers.

Diraz is the hometown of senior Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim.

On June 20, Bahraini authorities stripped Sheikh Qassim of his citizenship, less than a week after suspending al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, the country’s main opposition bloc, and dissolving the Islamic Enlightenment Institution founded by Qassim, and the opposition al-Risala Islamic Association.

Bahrain, a close ally of the United States in the Persian Gulf region, has seen a wave of anti-regime protests since mid-February 2011. Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of others wounded or detained in Manama’s ongoing crackdown.